The impact the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies has had on New Zealand tourism has been well-documented, but will the country be able to sustain the hype now that the final movie has hit theaters?

It is estimated The Hobbit films bring in $50 and $500 million per year. Recognizing the movies' role in tourism, New Zealand-based companies have started incorporating the films into their marketing strategies. Air New Zealand, for example, flies jets emblazoned with images from the movies, has commissioned Hobbit sculptures in the airports, and plays safety videos featuring characters from the films.

"The Most Epic Safety Video Every Made." That's actually the title of Air New Zealand's newest mini-film, just posted yesterday and coming soon to its aircraft. It's definitely worth a watch, and we say this although we aren't the biggest Hobbit fans. It's just that good.

Starring Sir Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, other actors from the Hobbit films, and three actual Air New Zealand flight attendants, the 4.5-minute video has already amassed over 500,000 views in its first 24 hours, and you can imagine how many more will actually get to watch it onboard an AirNZ plane before flying off to the land of Lord of the Rings locations.

This fresh video does feature a few details you won't hear from airlines who haven't updated their safety spiels lately, like the note including e-cigarettes as part of the "No Smoking" rule, and the ability to use "lightweight, handheld electronic devices at any time."

75 lucky winners (plus one friend each, so 150 total) will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Middle Earth, aka New Zealand, where they will tour Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations before catching a special screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies with Peter Jackson.

We don’t get to make it down to New Zealand as often as we’d like, but at least the next time we arrive we’ll feel a little bit better about our carbon footprint thanks to Auckland Airport.

The airport—the busiest one in the country—has announced all kinds of new partnerships and initiatives, and it’s all part of bringing a little bit of green to the airport experience. Officials will be spending around $2.5 million over the next few years to manage, measure, and maintain all kinds of energy usage and utilization.

We come across some downright awesome airline amenity kits in our travels, and the surprises of each zippered pouch can often make or break comfort on a premium flight. With this in mind, here's to our new series: Inside the Amenity Kit, wherein we unzip, unwrap, and expose the loot inside:

Hopping across the Pacific is not a short, quick flight by any means. Thus, any little added comfort is a welcome bonus for passengers on flights that approach 12 or 13 hours, depending on the route. With this in mind, Air New Zealand provides an amenity kit both quirky and functional.

Passengers gearing up for extended period of time on the airline's 777-300s are greeted with a small, light grey felt pouch filled with goodies to ensure a comfy flight. We flew in Premium Economy one way and Business Class the other on a recent trip, and were offered the same exact amenity kit for both.

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Something as simple as a delicious drink can transport your imagination back to the enjoyment of an overseas vacation. So, when we grabbed a few intriguing packages of a local treat during a visit to New Zealand, we were pretty stoked to save it for a rainy day.

Kids go nuts for it, adults reminisce about their childhood with it, and expats long for the taste of it; we're talking about Raro, the powdered drink mix.

We continually said it over and over again, that tourism and travel is constantly killing it on Instagram, and that Australia reigns supreme.

This week we welcome a new addition to the awesome Instagramers with Pure New Zealand, the folks behind promoting the natural beauty of the island nation in the South Pacific. Started only this month, they've been pretty active already with a myriad of photos, ranging from city-scapes to nature shots with a gentle sprinkling of requisite Hobbit snaps.

As we talked about in our recent review of a "state of the union" type travel book, the Chinese are without question the biggest and most important market that will determine and shape the future of tourism. But having been sheltered for so long by their own government, their transition into worldly travelers has not been a smooth process by any stretch of the imagination.

As recently as last year, complaints flooded in from around the world about the behavior of Chinese tourists abroad. In an effort to curb the declining reputation of its citizens and the country as a whole, the Chinese government issued a pamphlet that laid out some guidelines for how to act in another country.

While some of the recommendations where good ones that explained cultural differences, such as not drinking soup straight from the bowl, the behavior guide ended up backfiring in a way, as the media highlighted many of the more peculiar suggestions. The Mirror, for example, opened its article with this:

When it comes to in-flight safety, the last thing that probably comes to mind is a bevy of bronzed swimsuit babes frolicking on the beach. If you're Air New Zealand, however, that combination makes perfect sense. And, seeing as how the airline has a strong history of creative safety videos, it makes even more sense.

Using swimsuit models can be considered gratuitous, but this time there's pretty good reason for the exposed skin. The Kiwi airline has partnered with both Sports Illustrated and the Cook Islands to bring us this season's newest pre-take-off demonstration, Safety in Paradise.

Air New Zealand actually celebrates 40 years of flying to the Cook Islands, while SI celebrates its 50th year of showcasing the newest bikini fashion in tropical locations.

In 2012, the airport installed a giant (not to mention so realistic it was creepy) Golum above its food court to share in the excitement of the newest movie. Now, airport visitors are greeted by two Great Eagles suspended from the ceiling and Gandolf perched on top of one of the 2,000lb sculptures.